ICLI Expansion project

ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Expansion Project

Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI):—Brief History and Update on Expansion By Faroque Ahmad Khan (Chair Expansion Steering Committee) I feel very fortunate in that I have been involved with ICLI since its humble beginnings in early 80’s and I have witnessed the challenges ICLI and the community faced over the past three decades. Before I share with you the current status of the expansion allow me to share few highlights, which, from my perspective highlight the accomplishments and the challenges which ICLI faced. Beginnings: Before ICLI was established in 1984, few families would bring the children to various available homes, storefronts, for weekend lessons, the parents were the teachers. During this time I recall going to the Quaker church on Post Avenue and Jericho Turnpike, after a brief conversation with the church leaders, we were given the keys to the classrooms and were permitted to use the classrooms at our convenience for a modest charge of $25/wk—cleaning costs. I was deeply touched by this gesture-- the tolerance, transparency and the welcoming nature of our Quaker colleagues was something we can all emulate and learn from. Dr Tariq Javaid identified 835 Brush Hollow Road as a potential site for a permanent home, Mrs Singer the owner set the price at $150K and we had 14 K in the bank. Br Rizvi was the treasurer and Dr Chadda was the president. In spite of the rather meager bank balance we decided to proceed and rest is history. The community has been and insha Allah will continue to be generous with its finances, ideas and time. Interaction with the neighbors:—In the late eighties, 90 Westbury residents signed a petition requesting the Westbury village to refuse building permit. We met with many community members, invited recommendations from neighbors, and after completion of the project in an article in New York Time (NYT) on Feb 23,1993 titled—ICLI fills Social and religious Void-- Ann Sweat the chairwoman of CWCA housing comm. stated: “ We now feel the mosque is a credit to the community. We are 100% satisfied". The lessons learnt in the 8o’s are applicable in 2012 and beyond—Muslims are new kids on the block, most folks have misgivings and concerns, however with dialogue and outreach they—the skeptics--- can become your friends and advocates. Strategic Retreat: What exactly is the vision and mission of ICLI??.—Under Prof Rafik Beekuns watchful eye over a period of two days ICLI members developed the vision and mission for ICLI. Vision: Be a center of excellence for developing and sustaining a progressive, vibrant Islamic community and a nurturing environment for the society at large and Mission: Serve and engage Muslims by promoting the values and teaching of Islam and to advocate inter-faith harmony in a multicultural environment in accordance with the holy Quran and Sunnah. Its important for all communities to develop clear goals and objectives and stick to them . ICLI is progressing very nicely, the operational budget was well balanced, the endowment fund was growing, as per the Bylaws elections were held and the change of leadership brought with it new talent, energy and ideas . Both women and men were involved in the governance of the ICLI. However several natural and human calamities mandated ICLI play a visible role in presenting the Muslim viewpoint—

ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD ICLI Annual Report 1433AH / 2012AD The WTC bombing during Ramadan on Friday Feb 26, 1993, Okhlahoma City Bombing on April 19,1995, TWA Flight 800 crash on July 17,1996, Egypt Air Fl 990 crash on Oct 21,1999 . ICLI had developed into a hub for the media, both the print and visual. We realized the need for having spokespersons and responding to the inquiries in a timely manner. The worst was yet to come : September 11 2001, when everything changed, Muslims were hit with a double whammy—we lost many members and friends and at the same time became ‘suspects”. Currently Muslims are harassed at airports, subject to verbal and sometimes physical abuse, children endure taunts in schools, there is intrusive surveillance, profiling and frequent mistreatment by law enforcement. Muslims are guilty till proven innocent—its supposed to be you are innocent till proven guilty. Some politicians are using Muslims as a wedge issue to scare voters and gain some votes. Many new Mosques and community centers are drawing the ire of well organized groups. Why all this attention I wondered, well the answer lies in seven foundations which provided forty two million dollars over the past decade to key individuals and organizations that have spearheaded the nationwide Islamophobia campaign in USA. (Ref: Lobe L: New Report Identifies Organizational Nexus of Islamophobia—The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Nov 2011 page 18-19). It’s clear that institutions like ICLI develop strategies to combat Islamophobia at local and regional level. ICLI has received prominent coverage in local and national media, special supplement in Newsday on Oct 18, 2001 by Carol Eisenberg: titled A Mosque Spreads its Message, Lead Article in NYT Sunday March 11,2007 by Andrea Elliott titled: Between Black and Immigrant Muslims, an Uneasy Alliance— PBS Channel 21 has done a special profile on ICLI and many of our members are a regular feature on the local channel 12, channel 55 and national outlets like CNN,ABC,NBC. ICLI has learnt an important lesson--If you have something worthwhile to share the media will be there. Do not speculate, stay away from conspiracy theories and be prepared with facts and figures, two example’s: Newsday May 2nd 2005—ICLI celebrated the opening of its new office space and publicly acknowledged the donation of furniture by Irwin Horwitz, a Jewish philanthropist and owner of several Ethan Allen stores on Long Island. If it’s ‘catchy’, they will come. “Jewish donor furnishes ICLI office”!!!. Joint Sukkoth-Ramadan celebration at ICLI Oct 2006: ICLI built a special Sukkoth to celebrate this fall harvest Jewish holiday. At this ground breaking event ICLI had a press conference in which key religious leaders spoke in favor of ICLI and challenged the congressman who kept parroting that: 85% Mosques are managed by extremists, Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement agencies etc. Lesson learnt—Be proactive, build alliances, recognize individuals like Irwin Horowitz, that’s the best PR for the community. Its been quite a rewarding experience over past three decades watching and benefitting from the openness and generosity of the community both Muslim’s and others. The friendship and alliances built with the members and leaders of Christian, Jewish and other faiths, experiencing the generosity of the community in supporting the myriad programs of ICLI, developing an expertise in reaching out to organized groups in colleges, schools, universities, supporting the great initiatives like the MTH Foundation for Parkinsons research, in short establishing roots for the Muslims in this great nation. Now its time to build up on the work done so far. Why the expansion: a) Decent classrooms for children’s education-eliminate the ‘waiting’ list of students b) Expand the pre K c) Interfaith Institute which will be linked to national interfaith programs and to major universities—ex Hofstra which has an outstanding department of religion d) Conference and meeting rooms for ICLI and

the many organizations which use ICLI facilities for meetings—Interfaith Alliance, ACLU, LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives etc e) State of Art Library e) Final goodbye in a comfortable setting for those who have been called for the final journey f) Seniors/retirees program g) Food pantry etc. From my perspective I see ICLI as an extension of my home on Long Island and would like to personally contribute to its expansion which is necessitated by the growth of the ICLI family, its programs, its outreach, its profile. Having a facility with modern up to standard facilities is a must. Let us build a place were the increasing number of our visitors will walk away with a positive impressions about the Muslims and the institutions they use. First impressions are lasting impressions. I will close with a quote from a March 2nd 2011 editorial in Newsday. This editorial was prompted after the village of Westbury gave its final approval for expansion and addition of 18,000 sq ft , in an environment in USA which is at times down right hostile for the Muslims. Newsday Editorial of March 2nd 2011 Praising ICLI and Westbury Village: Building anything on Long Island is often a slow process because of reflexive resistance to new height, density and traffic. So it's refreshing when a community can compromise and let something get done. When that something is a mosque expansion, in an age when - sadly - the word stirs irrational fears, all the more reason to celebrate. The Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury has long dealt with traffic problems. Due to its limited parking, worshipers coming to Friday prayers have to park on the streets. The mosque's leaders encouraged carpooling and parking several blocks away, but the problem remains. So expanding the parking, by knocking down buildings on its property, seemed like a winner. But the plan also included a three-story structure for classrooms and offices, plus a minaret, the tower used to summon believers to prayer. The community uproar was loud. But to be neighborly, the leaders of the center quickly did away with the minaret and later agreed to make the new building only two stories and reduce the number of new parking spaces. Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro stayed cool and focused on issues, not fears. This process should be a model, not only for mosques, but for all construction controversies: Plan, talk, listen and compromise. In summary I have through the prism of the thirty year ICLI experience shared with you the story of the American Muslim community, which barring a few exceptions finds itself in a friendly welcoming society, the community is getting established and is now entering into the phase of institution building, ICLI expansion being an example, at the local community level the authorities are quite supportive and understanding. We the Muslims need to respect our neighbors rights and privacy particularly on Fridays, Ramadhan and Eid gatherings. ICLI has a well outlined work plan and strategy which is well aligned with the environment we live in— see the summary of ICLI initiatives elsewhere in the journal. We have been the recipients of backlash from global and local events over which we have no control or influence, however I am reminded of: “When the going gets tough the tough get going” and in Sura Al-Inshirah 94 V 5-6 Allah-God-assures us not once but twice” “So verily with every difficulty there is relief.” . ICLI’s work and engagement with the Christian, Jewish and other faith groups has been very rewarding and ICLI has, as our marketing folks would say developed a brand recognition locally, regionally nationally and even globally. For these reasons I encourage you to support the planned expansion of ICLI and leave behind a legacy for future generations who will pass through this great country of ours—USA, which in the First Amendment of the constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof---“. Good News: The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University recognized Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro and ICLI chair Habeeb Ahmed at the third annual awards in November 2011 for the manner in which the ICLI expansion project was prepared by ICLI and managed by the Westbury village.

The ICLI board created a special committee called the Expansion Steering Committee (ESC) which is charged with the responsibility of overseeing and coordinating all aspects of the expansion project which includes the construction, financing and usage after completion. The ESC meets regularly at ICLI on Sunday mornings, the last—28th- meeting was held on Sunday November 4th 2012, the ESC has representation from ICLI board, executive committee and the general membership. We welcome your attendance and participation at the ESC deliberations, if you like to attend kindly call the ICLI office to confirm the date and time of the next meeting. Finances: Br Rizwan Qureshi and Amin Khwaja oversee the financial aspects of the expansion project, so far ICLI has approximately million dollars available for the expansion with an additional six hundred thousand dollars in pledges. Construction: Br Nazir Mir along with a group of engineers overseas the myriad aspects of the construction project. What’s Been Accomplished So Far?: 1) Approvals and Permits: All the required surveys/ permits have been obtained. 2)Million Dollar Parking Lot: Two ICLI owned homes were demolished which allowed the expansion of the parking lot. The cost of this additional parking was approximately one million dollars—cost of two homes on Talbot street and additional costs of demolition etc. 3)Estimates: The ESC committee reviewed several detailed proposals for the expansion project and after extensive review by the construction comm. headed by Br Nazir Mir a final contractor has been selected. We request all the members, supporters of ICLI to fulfill the outstanding pledges at their earliest convenience . We also wanted to share with you the information that as per Al-Azhar ruling, a number of projects within the expansion project qualify for Zakat payment. What’s Next? : In spring 2013 the construction of the expansion project will commence— insha Allah. This will involve demolition of the original building which currently has few classrooms and the pre-k, laying the foundation for the new building and Insha'Allah completing the project as fast as possible— main limiting factor will be the availability of $$$. This massive project will result in some inconvenience resulting from relocation of classrooms, pre-k, limited parking etc. The ICLI management will do its best to minimize the inconvenience and we greatly appreciate your understanding and co-operation during this challenging time.